Planooraph co



L. F. PERKETT REFRIGERATOR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATIQN FILED'NOV- 12. I917.

Patented Aug. 12, 1919.

2 SHEET$SHEET 1 U 3 N M m wllh MW hm; R hwy A M sh N. i 1 Q 3 Q W I WMW Qmv QR Wv QQ L. F. PERKETT.

REFRIGERATOR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION HLED NOV. 12, I917- v I 1 ,3 1 2,868. Patented Aug. 12, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

v UNITED STATES PATENT onrron.

LOUIS F. PERKETT, OF TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T0 TRAVERSE CITY REFRIGERATOR CO., OF TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHI- GAN.

REFRIGERATOR CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed November 12, 1917. Serial No. 201,421.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS F. PERKETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Traverse City, in the county of Grand Traverse and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerator Construction, of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to improvements in refrigerator construction. and one of the objects of the'same is to cheapen the cost of manufacture and to provide a light and durable refrigerator having its walls constructed of fiber board, and which will at the same time be moisture and heat proof.

A further object is to provide an improved.

refrigerator of this character which will be of a sectional construction, the walls being formed of units, thereby facilitating the assembling and manufacture of the device.

To the attainment of these endsand the accomplishment of other new and useful objects as will appear, the invention consists in the features of novelty in substantially the construction, combinationand arrangement of the several parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings illustrating the.

invention, and in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinalsectional view of an improved refrigerator of this character constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention, and as taken on line 11, Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken on line' 22, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 33, Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken.

on line H, Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the units or sections onstituting one of the walls of the refrigerator and with a portion broken away.

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the bottom section or unit.

r In the present invention, the refrigerator comprises an inner and an outer casing, the inner casing constitutlng the ice and food compartments and is constructed of sections, each section constituting a complete unit and the units form the side, top, back and bottom walls of the compartment.

In Fig. 5, one of the uprlght wall units is.

shown and comprises a frame work 10 havmg an intermediate supporting member'or Patented Aug. 12, 1919.

cleat which latterextends lengthwise of the frame, so as to run parallel with the side members of the frame.

Secured to each face of the frame thus formed, is a facing 13, of sheet material,-

such as fiber board, so thatthe space within 7 the frame and on each side of the central member 11 will form a closed dead air space.

Secured to the section thus formed and extending laterally beyond one face thereof are upright parallel members 1 1, which are preferably of a length to extend a short distance above the top of the section. The

parts thus formed and secured together coIk' 'stitute a complete unit,'and-both of the side walls are formed in this'manner. The bot tom member constitutes a base comprising a 1 plurality of horizontally disposed parallel members 15 secured to the top of which is a sheet of material 16, preferably of fiber board, and surmounted upon the member. 16 are a plurality of spaced parallel mem bore 17 which extend transversely of the members 15. The outer members 17- are spaced from the extremities of the members 15 to form a support for the side walls of V the compartment and secured across" the members 17 is a member '18 constructed of sheet materiaL-suchas fiber board; 7

The support for the refrigerator comprises a base member embodying a frame '19,

- the members of whichframe are connected at the corners thereof by means of a tongue and groove connection 20, 21, and are secured inany suitable manner.

Secured within the frame thus formed is a sheet of fiber board 22, the edges 23 of which terminate-short of the base of. the groove 24 so as to permit of a slight movement of the member 22 with-respect to the frame, in the event of any swelling or con-.

tracting of the material. The bottom of the groove 21 adjacent the tongue 2( )'is of a greater depth than the remaining portion of the groove, so that the tongue may ex-' tend into the adjacent member for a'con The frame thus formed siderable distance.

is supported by means of suitable legs'25. v

' The bottom support for the refrigerator V is of any desired size and configuration etcl cording to the size and configuration of the superstructure, and placed upon. thls sup-1..

port is the bottom element of the inner com-' partment, shown more clearly in Fig. 6, and

this bottom element is provided with apertures 26 in the members 16 and 18 which register with each other and also register with an opening in the portion 22 of the supporting base and through which registering openings the drain pipe 27 passes.

The back member of the inner compartment is also constructed as a section or unit and comprises a frame 28, having a central reinforcing or supporting rib 29 extending longitudinally thereof and secured to the faces of the frame are fiber board elements 30.

The frame 28 is preferably of a construction slightly heavier or of a greater width than the frames of the other sections so that when the side sections or units are placed upon the bottom element as already described, the members of the frame will project beyond the side units to terminate flush with the outer edges of the members 14 of the side units as shown more clearly in Fig. 4.

Corner members 31 are secured to the frame 28 to extend lengthwise thereof and an intermediate reinforcing rib 32 is also secured to the back unit and projects laterally therefrom. The outer faces of the elements 31, 32 terminate substantially flush with each other and the outer edges of the members 31 also terminate flush with the outer edges of the frame 28, while the upper extremities of the, elements 3132 terminate flush with the upper extremities of the members 14.

The top unit of the inner compartment comprises a frame 33 secured to the faces of which frame are fiber board members 34, so as to form a dead air space within the frame.

In assembling this portion of the refrigerator, the side walls are placed in position upon the bottom section, Fig. 6, so as to fill the space between the edges of the element 18 and the extremity of the members 15, with the laterally projecting uprights 14 extending outwardly. The top section is then placed into. position upon the upper edges of the frames 10 and to one side of the upper edges of the upright members, which latter project beyond the frames 10. The top edge of the rear section terminates flush with the tops of the frames 10 as shown more clearly in Fig. 2, andthe top unit is of such a size that the outer edge of the rear of the frame will stand substantially flush with the outer fiber wall or portion 30. These parts may then be secured together in any desired or suitable manner and when thus secured in position, it will be manifest that the inner casing is constituted of side, back top and bottom walls'having dead air spaces 35.

The outer casing of the refrigerator is formed by'means of sheets of fiber board 36,

37, secured respectively to the outer edges of the upright members 14 of the side walls, and the outer faces of the members 31, 32 of the rear wall or unit, and these fiber walls are secured in position in any suitable manner. The top of the outer casing is constructed of a frame 38 which rests upon the upper edges of the uprights 14 and the top of the frame 28, as well as the uprights 31. This frame 38 is of a size to abut the fiber walls 36, 37, and if desired a central or reinforcing member 39 may be provided in the 1 frame. The frame is of such a size that it will extend beyond the rear edge of the upper unit 34 of the inner casing-as shown more clearly in Fig. 2, to form a communicating passage 40 between the elements 34 and a fiber board element 41 secured to the top of the frame 38, and the dead air space 42, in the rear wall, or a portion of the frame 38 maybe cut away (see Fig. 2) as at 43 for that purpose.

With the parts thus constructed, it will be seen that the dead air spaces 42, 44 in the back, side and top walls of the outer casing have communication not only with the space between the top of the inner and outer casings, but also with the dead air spaces 45 between the bottom of the inner and outer casing so that in the event that any portion of the outer dead air space should cause the air therein to be heated, through any means, there will be a circulation set up in the outer dead air spaces to cause the heated portion to be equally distributed and thereby reduce the temperature of the air in any one portion of the outer casing.

The front of the refrigerator is con structed in any suitable manner preferably of a suitable frame work 46 secured in position in any suitable manner and which frame work is provided with suitable door openings 47 in which are arranged suitable doors 48. Each of the doors is provided with a panel 49 constructed of fiber board and a wall 50 also constructed of fiber board and spaced from the panel 49. The space thus formed is divided by a partition 51, preferably constructed of thinner fibrous material, and a lining 52 preferably ofsheet metal is arranged adjacent the wall 50. The doors thus constructed and operating to close. the openings 47 abut againstsuitable jambs. 53:.

The inner walls of the innermost casing may be lined with any suitable material 54, such as sheet metal or the like and a partition 55 may be provided to divide the casing into an ice compartment 56 and a food compartment 57, the ice compartment being pro vided with suitable flues 58 and the partition 55 being provided with a suitable opening 59' so as to permit circulation of the air within the compartment. The drain pipe 27 being connected with the ice compartment in any suitable manner to carry off the water of condensation. Obviously suitable shelves,

not shown, may be provided in the food com- 'partment.

In order to protect the outer edges of the outer casing and to reinforce the structure as well as cover the joints, the edges may be bound or covered by suitable sheet material 60 preferably of metal.

With this improved construction, it will be manifest that the refrigerator is so constructed that the inner compartment will be surrounded by dead air spaces and these dead air spaces will form a complete and thorough insulation for the inner compartment. The dead air spaces themselves being surrounded by other dead air spaces which latter have communication with each other, a limited circulation of the air therein may be obtained, which will protect the innermost dead air spaces and as a result, a thoroughly insulated refrigerator will be produced, which will at the same time be moisture proof and will be light and durable in construction. I

While of course many changes may be made in the details of construction, the preferred form of construction has been herein shown and described.

What is claimed as new is:

l. A refrigerator embodying a plurality of independent wall elements, each of said elements embodying a frame, fiber board secured to the frame to form a closed dead air space, spaced laterally projecting spacing members secured to one face of the element and extending thereacross, said elenients being assembled to form the sides,

backs, top and bottom of an inner casing with the said spacing members projecting from the outer faces of the walls, the front of the casing being shaped to form an entrance opening, fiber board secured to the said spacing members and defining the outer walls of the refrigerator, and a closure for the said entrance opening.

2. A refrigerator embodying an inner chamber having an entrance opening through one side thereof, the sides, back, top and bottom thereof being constructed of independent unit sections, each of which is hollow to form closed dead air spaces about the chamber, an inclosing casing for the chamber said inclosing casing having an opening through the side thereof, a closure for the open sides of the chamber and casing, the said casing being spaced from the walls of the chamber to form an air circulation passage around the chamber, laterally project- 7 ing spacing members extending from the. outer faces of the upright wall units for spacing the casing and chamber, and to which spacing members the outer casing walls are secured, and binding members secured over the adjacent edgesof the outer casing walls.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 25th day of October, A. D. 1917. V

LOUIS F. PERKETT.

Witnesses:

MA'rr N. CONNINE, WARD B. Oonnmn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

